


As Good As They Get

by Bingogal



Series: Things are looking up [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Armitage Hux is a Jerk, F/M, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mechanic Rey (Star Wars), Past Abuse, Past Relationship(s), Phasma Is Not Nice (Star Wars), Reylo - Freeform, Snoke Being a Dick (Star Wars), Star Wars Modern AU, one shot turned two, rey got her hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29744883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bingogal/pseuds/Bingogal
Summary: It hadn’t been easy, learning to love herself...Rey and Ben's relationship with a little bit of self-love and a lot of love for one another.Part Two of Things are Looking Up!
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Phasma, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Things are looking up [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186247
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	As Good As They Get

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is the second part of "Things are Looking Up!" I recommend that you read that one first before reading this one. 
> 
> Thank you such much for the support and love that this story has gotten, I appreciate you all so much!

It hadn’t been easy, learning to love herself.

Loving Ben? Not a problem, it was like breathing, something that you just _know how to do._ There was no uncertainty there, no doubt, no shame, no second thoughts. Rey had guessed for a long time, but it wasn’t until about 3 months after Ben had found her, freshly hired, in his father’s shop that she knew. 

Rey had shown up at his apartment around 6:00 like he had told her to, but she had been sitting on the ground outside his door because he had texted her saying that he was running late, _stuck in traffic._

The elevator had opened at the end of the hall and Rey perked up, Ben stepped out and smiled at her, then frowned. Rey frowned too.

He was carrying a bag to her favorite taco place. Rey was still sitting on the floor when he approached and offered her his hand.

“You got me food?” She asked. His hand fell back to his side. 

“Yeah, I was going to say that we could go out but I remember you had mentioned you were tired and wanted to binge some American Horror Story.”

“But you got tacos…”

He looked at her, his brows furrowing, then something like worry crossed his face. “Sorry, I should’ve asked. I thought you said it was your favorite -”

She interrupted him. “But that’s like, 15 minutes from your office. _Away from here.”_

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. It wasn’t a big deal and I should’ve made sure it was what you wanted. We can order something else… can you stand up please, sweetheart?”

Rey realized she was still sitting on the ground, staring up at him. _He had gotten her tacos…_

He extended his hand again and she took it. 

“I should get you your own key, I don’t know why I haven’t yet.” She almost hadn’t caught it since he mumbled it, like a thought to himself.

She stared at him. _Tacos and her own key._

“Sweetheart? Your zoning out, are you okay?”

“I love you,” she blurted it out. She took a defensive step back, preparing herself for him to laugh or some other method of breaking her heart. 

Instead, he smiled at her, all teeth and dimples before grabbing the back of her head and pulling her into a brutal kiss.

“I love -”

“No!” Rey interrupted. “No. Don’t say it unless you mean it. You don’t have to say it just because I said it, I’m fine. It’s honestly -”

This time, it was Ben who interrupted her. Another kiss, this time gentle and lingering. “Sweetheart, I love you.” He searched her eyes, “I’m in love with you.” 

They had spent the night eating tacos and watching tv before they became too distracted and had to rewatch several episodes. 

*

It turns out that Rey would need her own key since she moved in shortly after they had confessed their love for one another. She was uncomfortable when she realized that Ben’s bed was too low to the ground to fit her box underneath. He’d followed her into the bedroom with her duffle bag and caught her kneeling on the ground wringing her hands out.

“Sweetheart? What’s wrong?” He set the duffle bag on the bed. Ben had already cleared out a drawer and room in the closet for her things, leaving room so that one day (he hoped) Rey would let him buy her things to add. 

Rey was wringing her hands and her heart was threatening to expose her anxiety. “I just don't know where you’ll want me to put my stuff. I don’t want to take over your space and clutter it with my things.”

Ben sat down on the bed above her. Gently, he grabbed her chin and tilted her face up. “Rey, I want you to take over my space.” He glanced at the pitiful amount of worldly possessions she had. “ _Please,_ sweetheart.” 

Rey took out a framed picture of her with Finn and Rose. The frame had been thrifted and repainted red by Rey several years ago when she first moved to the city. In her other hand, she took out a new picture, in a golden (much nicer) frame. It was her favorite by far. It was a picture that Leia, Ben’s mother, had captured of the two of them one evening on the couch. They were cuddled up and, in the moment, had glanced at each other. 

_“You both look so in love, I just had to sneak a picture!”_ Leia had told her a week after that night when she handed her the framed picture. 

Rey glanced up at Ben and then stood and set both pictures on the dresser. She moved them a bit before nervously glancing back at Ben. 

“Is that okay?”

“It’s perfect, Rey. This place is ours, it’s yours. Do whatever you like to it.” He stood and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “My mother would love it if it actually looked lived in,” he added with a snicker. 

Ben owned stuff. At least far more than Rey did. His apartment was modern, mostly black leather and framed modern art. When Rey had asked why there were no pictures of his family in the place he had explained that until shortly before they had met, he and his family hadn’t spoken in years. They didn’t approve of Snoke, and his uncle, Luke, was apparently a _“Hippie with a stick up his ass.”_ Ben had switched his name to Kylo Ren, under the instruction of Snoke, and worked to become a partner. After realizing that Snoke had been playing Ben and Hux against each other for the position, ashamed and hurt, Ben had called his mother. He still worked for Snoke.

They were working on that. 

“What about my rocks?” Rey gestured towards the box. It was a little embarrassing, a grown woman hoarding rocks like a child. There weren’t many, a few from when the foster system had relocated her and one from the dump of a city she had lived in after she aged out and one currently. 

“I think we’ll have to grow the collection, yeah?”

Ben smiled at her. Rey smiled back.

She couldn’t remember the last time smiling had come so naturally. 

*

“Oi! Chewie, Han’s is trying to lift stuff again!” Han cursed under his breath as Chewie came into view. 

“I can’t just sit around!” Han complained loudly. 

“Your doctor said no manual labor. Go sit in the office,” Rey waggled the wrench in her hand at him before getting back to work. 

“Han, go sit down,” Chewie gruffly commanded. He didn’t need to say much since Rey clearly had the situation under control. 

Since she had started working for them, it became clear that the mechanic was more than capable of anything they threw at her. She did jobs twice as fast as they did and when she tried to work longer than they were open, the two men had to drag her out of the shop and send her home.

 _“Gonna work yourself into the ground, kid.”_ Han had told her. 

Rey loved the Kessel Run. Music played softly in the background while she worked, the pay was enough that she had extra money to spend now (not that she did), and she had been allowed to take the Falcon out on occasion. To which Ben had grumbled that his dad didn’t let _him_ drive it. 

A week before, Han’s doctor had put him under strict observation for his heart and health. The man didn’t know when to stop, which he reminded Rey of that she was the same way constantly. 

When Ben had heard his father teasingly say that she would end up like him, under doctor’s orders, in the future, Ben had begged her to take fewer hours. 

Han, now pouting in a rolling office chair, watched Rey with a mixture of envy and temporary hatred. 

Rey grinned at him.

“How’s that boy of mine treating you, kid?”

She smiled to herself. “He’s amazing, Han. Definitely doesn’t take after you!”

“Ha ha, I taught him to woo the ladies, you can thank me that he's a gentleman.”

Chewie roared with laughter. “What would Leia say?”

“Yeah old man,” Rey looked over at him trying not to laugh. “What would Leia say?”

Han turned red. “Nevermind what Leia would say.” 

Rey returned to her work, smiling and listening to Chewie and Han bicker. Suddenly she frowned thinking back to the first time she had met Ben. He had been charming, and polite. Was he like that with all the ladies? 

Even though Rey tried to brush the thought off, it clung to the front of her brain. 

_He probably has girls all over him at work._ Beautiful _girls._

“Hey, kid! We’re losing you!”

“Sorry!” And Rey got back to work. 

That night, after Rey stepped out of the shower, she dragged the towel across the mirror to uncover her face. Her reflection mocked her for a second but she took a deep breath.

She dropped her towel. 

_Nope._

She left the bathroom and only reentered once she was dressed and her body covered. She avoided her reflection while she dried her hair and scurried out to the kitchen to start dinner.

She was at the counter cutting vegetables when Ben got home. His heavy footsteps were the only warning as he entered the kitchen. 

“Hello,” Ben’s deep voice rumbled in her ear, she hummed in greeting. He wrapped an arm around her front and pulled her to his chest, he littered kisses in her hair and down her neck before she turned her head to kiss him on the lips. He turned her body towards his fully and cradled the back of her head, his other arm still wrapped around her body. 

Rey snaked her arms around his neck and stood up in her toes to reach him better. Her hands tugged gently at his hair and she could feel him grin against her lips. 

He pulled back to look at her. “How was your day?” He whispered to her as he gravitated his kisses back down the side of her head and neck. 

“It was good, your father is like a child, he won’t stay still. I told him I’d do the extra work for him but I think he just wants to do _something.”_

Ben pulled away at that and looked at her. “Baby, don’t overwork yourself.”

She rolled her eyes, “I won’t. It’s just a little extra work, it’s still probably less than I ever did at Plutt’s.” 

“Good,” that snapped Rey out of her thoughts. “You work too hard.” 

“Says you,” she mumbled. They didn’t really talk about his work, it was… a touchy subject. Ben openly hated working for Snoke and working with Hux. 

They had agreed not to make a big deal out of their relationship, it was a protection mechanism. Hux didn’t need to know. And it took everything Ben had not to strangle him several times a day for what he had done to Rey. 

“I like you in this,” he tugged at the big shirt of his that she had put on in their bedroom. It was comfortable but it was also baggy on her. 

Ben slid his hand under the edge of the shirt, Rey stepped away. 

Anxiety was coursing through her. _How many people has he slept with? How many were beautiful?_

She thought of all the times Hux would drag her to bed, complain when she resisted, and call her different names. Ben wasn’t like that at all, but she couldn’t help but think he thought those thoughts. 

Rey busied herself by the stove, she knew he must be confused.

He stepped up behind her and started rubbing her shoulders that she didn’t realize were tense. 

“What’s wrong? Don’t say nothing, you can talk to me sweetheart, it’s okay.”

Did she dare? She didn’t want to be a bother. 

“Ben,” she had never felt so vulnerable before. “Why are you with me?”

“Sweetheart,” he said with a small laugh. “How do you expect me to answer that?” 

“Honestly.” Tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes. 

“Rey,” his voice softened as it did only when he spoke to her. He leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder. “You make me a better man, a much better man than I ever have been. You’re the reason that I smile when I’m walking to my car or in the middle of a meeting. You make me so at peace like there’s some light in me.” He kissed her head. 

“I’m so lucky to have you. You’re so beautiful, so smart. You’re so strong, baby. Look at you, you’ve conquered so much all by yourself. You sharing that with me is more than I could ask for, it’s more than I deserve. I’m so proud of you for everything you’ve accomplished. There isn’t anyone else I would want to be with.” 

She didn’t say anything. Part of her brain wanted to argue with him that there was probably someone who could do it all better than she did. Another part of her was stunned into silence. No one had ever said anything like that to her. 

“You don’t believe me do you?” He asked. 

She shook her gently. “I’m not beautiful, I’m not-”

He pulled her arm and she stumbled for a second but he waited patiently until she was upright to continue. Ben pulled her into the bathroom. 

She cast her eyes down. 

He stood behind her facing the mirror, he tapped her arm and she looked up at their reflection. 

“What do you not like?” 

She swallowed. “Plutt and Armie always said,” but she stopped when Ben made any angry noise, she almost flinched. He must’ve noticed because he took a second to relax himself and rub her arms. 

“Sweetheart, do you know what I see when I look at you?” She shook her head. “I see these eyes, the way they light up. I see your smile when you're happy, _it makes me happy.”_ He ran his hands down her sides, she shivered. “I see beauty. I see you. Whatever _they_ said, I wish I could go back in time and change, but I can’t. So I hope that you can believe me when I say that you, Rey, are beautiful. On the inside and out.”

He made her stay like that for a while, gently touching her and occasionally kissing her. He made her see what he saw, her smile and body. Ben showed her how to love a little more of herself that day. 

Ben didn’t bring her flower to make up for yelling at her, he brought her potted plants because _he wanted to_ and because he knew she liked to watch them grow. 

Ben didn’t just let her eat what was in the apartment, he brought food on the way home from work because _he wanted to_ and he knew that otherwise, she would scavenge for crumbs. 

He didn’t care if she was covered in oil when he’d surprise her at the shop. He didn’t mind some nights she just wanted to cuddle. He didn’t mind that she cried on occasion. 

Because Ben _loved her._

*

Ben huffed from behind her. A grin broke out across her face but she didn’t move, even though she could hear him tossing and turning. 

“Get off, BB,” Ben whispered loudly. “BB! Dog, I know you hear me.” 

His large hand reached over Rey but she smacked it away, Ben let out a disgruntled noise. 

“Leave him alone,” Rey snuggled back into the small corgi that lay completely unaware of the disturbance. 

“I didn’t know you were awake,” Ben was propped up on one elbow now, eyeing the creature. “Rey, he’s taking over the bed. I’m on the edge here!” 

“Ben you have a king-size bed, you’re fine.”

“Rey,” she peered at him. “He’s taking up all the space.” 

Rey sat up. BB was indeed taking over the majority of the bed. Throughout the night it seemed BB would snuggle closer to Rey, and when Rey snuggled closer to Ben, the process had to repeat itself until they were all squished together. The corgi was laying his back, legs up and mouth open. 

Poe had begged them to watch his furbaby for a weekend that he’d be out of town. Rose was allergic to dogs and Poe easily blackmailed Ben into watching the dog with a few _“Benny boy’s.”_ Rey hadn’t been an issue, Poe told her that if she didn’t watch him he’d end up at the vet’s, in a cage. 

“But he’s comfortable. He leaves tomorrow. Please baby,” she turned to look at her boyfriend. He frowned. 

Defeated, Ben flopped back down onto his sliver of bed. “Fine,” he gritted out. “But we’re not doing this again, he can stay at the vets next time.” 

“He will not! They’ll put him in a cage!” 

“Sweetheart, Poe just told you that to make you feel bad.” 

“No, he didn’t! They put them in cages and then they all bark! BB would get scared, he wouldn’t be able to sleep,” she was well aware of how she looked. Her hair was ruffled, Ben’s t-shirt that she wore was falling off her shoulder, and she was _glaring_ daggers into Ben. 

“Baby, he’s a dog. He’d be fine.”

“No Ben! He wouldn’t be fine, it’s scary and it’s frightening not knowing where you are or who’s around. You don’t know if you’re safe enough to sleep and then when you hear...” she trailed off. 

_Well, fuck. Here we go._

Ben sat up. Slowly, like he was thinking about what to say, he said, “Rey, I thought you… I thought you stayed with Finn and Rose when you were…” 

_Homeless._

They had briefly discussed it. How she had been homeless on multiple occasions. But after that conversation, where Rey brushed it off, it became an unspoken rule: do not mention. 

She was embarrassed. She was embarrassed that she had been living in the streets, begging for dinner and scared, and now she lived in a beautiful city apartment with _silk sheets_ on the bed. 

_She dirtied them._

“I haven’t known Finn and Rose my whole life,” she snapped. Rey paused, “I’m sorry.” 

Ben pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. “Don’t apologize,” he said softly. He reached to brush some tangled hair out of her face. “Rey, you never have to be scared again.” 

He was trying not to push her, she could tell. He was trying not to pass too many unspoken boundaries at once. He was trying to make her comfortable. 

Rey kissed him. They quietly looked at each other, unspoken words traveling across the bond they shared. _I love you._

A sound of jingling caught their attention, BB, now grumpy about being awoken, jumped off the bed and trotted out towards the living room. 

_Probably destined to relax on Ben’s designer couch._

Suddenly Rey was being shoved, rather violently she might add, over towards the side of the bed that BB had been occupying. 

“Ben! What are you doing?”

“Move! Before he comes back!” Finally satisfied that he was no longer hanging on the edge of the bed, now recentered on his side, Ben sighed. 

Laughter rang through the air. 

“What?” Ben asked, somewhat grumpily. 

He repeated the question but Rey couldn’t answer. Playfully annoyed, he began to tickle her, making her squeal with more laughter. 

_Rey was very happy._

*

Rey wasted no time throwing herself from Chewie’s truck and running inside the hospital. She was pretty sure Han was behind her somewhere but it wasn’t the top of her priorities at the moment. 

Leia had called them at the shop. There had been an accident. 

Ben had been in an accident. 

Dear god.

Rey didn’t know the details, she just heard blood and hospital and she had been yelling at Chewie to get the keys. 

A nurse yelled after her, telling her to stop running, _please._

Rey didn’t hear her. 

Leia was standing over a hospital bed with a soft smile on her face, but the pain in her eyes was evident. Ben was on the bed, still in the suit he wore to work this morning, the red tie that Rey had picked out for him was loosened around his neck. 

Rey choked on a sob in her throat. 

Ben’s face was almost completely covered in bandages, his right eye blocked from view. 

Both Leia and Ben turned to look at her, Han came panting up the hallway behind her. 

“Han! You’re not supposed to be doing anything strenuous!” Leia scolded. 

Han let out an exasperated sound, he gestured towards Rey while moving towards the bed. “Kid’s got speed. How are you doing son?” He seemed rather uncomfortable as he patted his son’s shoulder, they had been getting better, slowly. It helped that Ben was at the shop more often, even if it wasn’t exactly to see his father. 

Rey was still frozen in the doorway, her eyes on Ben, his eyes on her. 

“I’m fine, it’s just a scratch.” 

“Just a scratch!” Leia’s face would’ve made anyone cower (if Ben had cared to look). “You’re lucky you didn’t lose your eye!” 

Han groaned and flopped down in the bedside chair, running a hand through this hair. 

_Just like Ben did._

“Sweetheart?” All the eyes in the room moved on Rey now, but she was frozen solid, completely immobile. “Rey, come here baby.” Ben held out his hand to her like he had so many times before.

 _Safe. He makes me feel safe._

_He’s safe._

Tears were streaming down Rey’s face, she stumbled forwards, past his outstretched hand and into his chest. 

He let out a small “oomph!” As she landed on the bed with him, clinging to him. 

Leia’s gentle hand stroked her hair like Rey imagined a mother would. After a while she and Han left the room with a soft “we’re going to go talk to the doctor.” 

Ben continued to rub soothing circles in her back.

 _I should be taking care of him, but he’s taking care of me._

“What happened?” Rey croaked, she raised her head to look at him, bandages and all. “You were supposed to be at work.” 

“Snoke sent me out to meet with a client, someone was speeding.” He said with a shrug. He didn’t attempt to explain any further but Rey didn’t need any extra explanation. He frowned. “Actually, baby, can you grab my phone? I need to call Snoke and tell him I’ll reschedule. If they let me out today I can probably meet with them tomorrow.”

“You will not.” 

“I need to fix this, Snoke will not be happy if I don’t get this deal. These people are important to the company, sweetheart. Snoke needs me to do this.”

“I hate him.” As if that was anything new. Rey had met Snoke once with Hux at an office party, and of course, Hux had left her alone with him. He made insulting comments and insinuating gestures towards her until he laid a bony hand in her lower back and she ran off to the bathroom. But now… now that Ben was hurt _because of him,_ she hated him. 

“Rey,” Ben sighed.

“No!” Rey sat up on the bed, glaring at him. “I don’t care what you’re about to say, he’s a creepy old, manipulative, psychopath! Look at what he’s done to you!” Ben looked away from her… ashamed? 

_He thinks I’m talking about his face._

“Ben, baby.” Rey cooed, reaching out to gently turn his head towards hers. “Ben I’m talking about what he did to you and your parents, he was tearing you apart. He _still_ is.” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his good cheek. “I don’t care about this,” she placed a hand softly on the bandages. “You’re perfect to me, no matter what.” 

“Rey,” his voice was surprisingly sharp. “You haven’t even seen what it looks like. Don’t give me this shit to make me feel better.”

“You are the most stubborn man I have ever met.” Rey slid off the bed and crossed her arms. “I don’t care about what it looks like under there. You could’ve _died._ You could’ve left me! The only thing that matters right now is that you’re alive and okay! Do you know what it was like hearing that phone call? I didn’t know what to expect, I thought I was going to come see your _dead body!”_ Rey knew she was being a tad overdramatic, but honestly, she _didn’t care._ “You could have left me.” 

_Okay, now she’s just being selfish. He’s hurt, she’s supposed to be caring._

But loving Ben was like a tidal wave. It was like something she had never known. The thought of losing him… Rey had been left so many times by so many people. But the thought of losing Ben was like no other pain in the world, she wouldn’t survive if something happened to him. 

She wouldn’t. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” She said with a breathy sob, falling back towards him. 

*

Ben’s bandages were off. He had a scar that stretched from his forehead to his neck. It was healing slowly. 

Rey reached her hand out and cupped his face. They were in bed, facing each other, the city lights and noises were softened by the window curtains. 

Her thumb gently ran down the length of the scar on his cheek and he opened his eyes. He reached up and grabbed her wrist before pulling her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss to each of her fingertips. Then he tried to pull her hand away. 

“Don’t,” Rey said. She wiggled her hand from his grasp and scooted closer to him. Her fingers traced his scar again. “I think it’s kind of hot.”

Ben chuckled and shut his eyes again. “Does it make me look like a badass? Maybe I can make up some hero story about it to tell.”

Rey hummed and snuck a kiss against his lips. Ben’s eyes snapped open to meet hers again. 

He continued. “What if I said that was how I found this amazing woman? My girlfriend, before I knew her, struck me down when I tried to introduce myself.”

“That’s a terrible story, I like the original much better.”

Ben pulled her closer and tucked her under his chin. “It’ll go away eventually. I hope anyways… the doctor said I might have the scar forever.” 

She could hear the questions, the implications, in his voice. Rey looked up at him, “I told you I thought it was hot.” 

“Rey, sweetheart, I’m being serious.” 

“So I am,” _she was._

They were quiet for a few minutes before Rey pulled back and sat up. Ben looked at her, keeping his hand on her hip and rubbing his thumb over her skin. She wasn’t all skin and bones anymore, Rey now weighed a healthy weight. _“Still so small,”_ Ben would tell her, but he was happy with her progress. He never let her leave the house with eating and he went to all her doctor appointments with her to ensure she was healthy, if she wanted. He kissed her and whispered that she was beautiful. She _felt_ more beautiful now. 

_She was so lucky._

“You’re so handsome,” she whispered. “You’re so good to me, I never tell you enough.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to.”

 _But I do._ Rey never thought that Ben, her strong, powerful, confident Ben could need her words of reassurance like she needed them. But then she thought about him hiding behind that pot at the office party they met at. Maybe he did need to hear it. 

“I love you. You make me feel…” she paused. “You make me feel so loved, and safe and beautiful. You make me feel things that I’ve never felt before.” She kissed him again, “I love you. Ben, you are incredible, I’ve never met someone like you. You’re so _strong,_ Ben, so stubbornly determined, so brave in everything you do. 

He pulled her close under his chin again. After a while, he let out a wet “I love you too.” 

They stayed like that for a long time. 

*

There was another work function. 

The ones that Rey hated, _yeah._

Ben had told her one night as they were cuddled on the couch eating takeout, but quickly reassured her she didn’t have to go if she didn’t want to. But that _he’d love for her to go._

She pulled out the red dress Hux had bought her months ago.

It fit a little better now. 

“I like that one,” Ben had murmured as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. 

When she mentioned the origins of the dress Ben had snapped back into reality and snatched the offending piece from her hands, vowing to get rid of it. 

“No! Baby, I don’t want to keep it but it’s so nice. Let me see if Rose wants it.” There it was, that inability to let go. 

“I’ll take you dress shopping,” he had said. “I’ll take you and you can try on as many as you like.” 

Unfortunately, Ben hadn’t been able to find time with work. He had apologized profusely but it was okay, it was the thought that had counted. Rey could manage, she could find a dress. A nice one. 

_Oh, shit._ She was getting anxious just thinking about it. 

So, that was why she was riding with Leia to a high-end store with Ben’s credit card. 

_“There is no limit,”_ he had told her with a gentle kiss goodbye in the morning. 

“Rey, dear? Do you like the blue or the green better?” Leia was gesturing at two dresses that the sales clerk held up. 

“Oh, I’m not sure…” 

“Well, then you’ll have to try both on!” Leia said excitedly. She moved to sit down on one of the couches the store had, she grabbed her glass of champagne and took a tip, raising her eyebrows at Rey's hesitation. 

Rey wasn’t used to places like this, but since dating Ben she had been to several places she couldn’t afford, mostly just accompanying Ben to try on a suit or whenever Leia demanded she spend time with her. 

She stepped out of the dressing room a few minutes later in the green dress and looked at herself in the mirror. 

She could look at herself now. 

_Ben thinks I’m beautiful. I am beautiful._

“Oh Rey, that one is perfect. You look amazing.”

“Yeah, I do,” Rey said, trying to not let her voice shake. She stared at herself, engraving into her mind that she _looked good. She felt good,_ she smiled softly at the thought.

“You know one day you’ll be trying on wedding dresses, I do hope you invite me for it, I know all the best places.”

Rey spun around to face Leia. 

“Don’t look at me like that!” Leia chuckled. “You act like you and Ben aren’t head over heels in love.” 

“I don’t know if he would want to marry me,” Rey said. She _thought_ she knew, but they had never talked about it. Their relationship wasn’t one of planning, it was different every day. 

_She certainly wanted to marry him._

“Rey,” Leia’s voice was softer now, like Ben’s oftentimes did when he knew Rey was struggling. “My son might be a fool, but he’s not fool enough to let you go. You make him very happy, Rey. I thank you for that.” 

She didn’t know what to say. But before she could think of anything, Leia continued. “I don’t think you need to try the other one, I think that one is perfect. But if you want to try more on I’ll be more than happy to help.”

“No, I think you’re right. I like this one.” 

“Good!” Leia exclaimed, returned to her usual self. “Lunch is on me!” 

Ben’s warm hands helped her out of the car, he snuck an arm around her once she was out and he tossed the keys to valet. 

“If you want to leave, let me know,” he whispered in her ear. He pressed a kiss lightly in her curled hair and helped her up the steps. 

It was a different venue from the last one Rey had attended, when she was with Hux. This place was just as nice, with high ceilings and glass chandeliers, there was a band like there was last time but the sound of voices dominated the air. 

She smiled up at him. “Just… stay with me?” 

“Of course sweetheart.” He looked at her teasingly before asking, “did I tell you how beautiful you look?” _Like he didn’t at least 100 times before they left._ His eyes were wandering. 

“I think you might have mentioned it,” she smiled at him and he gave her side a little squeeze while he grinned at her. 

They moved around the room, keeping towards the edge like they both preferred. Poe, of course, spotted them. 

“My favorite couple!” 

“Hey Poe,” Rey said as he swept her from Ben’s arms into a hug.

Ben grunted. 

“Rey, doll, you look _fabulous._ And Benny boy! We need to see each other more!” 

“Don’t call me that Dameron. We see each other every day at work.” 

“I mean _outside_ of work!” 

“We saw each other last weekend, when you invited us all over. BB tore my shoes up.” 

Poe ignored him. “You know,” he said in a hushed whisper. “I finally found an out.”

At this, Ben did perk up. He snaked his arm back around Rey and pulled her to him. “What do you mean?” 

“You know Holdo, right? Of course you do, your mom must know her. How is Leia?” 

“Poe,” Ben growled. 

“Fine! I’ll call her myself. But Holdo offered me a position, doesn’t pay quite as good but still better than anything else. I mentioned you, just hinted that you were looking, she said there was an opening that you’d be perfect for.” 

Before Ben could reply and a cold voice rang out. They all froze. 

“Kylo, my boy.” Snoke appeared, dressed in a gold suit, with his niece Phasma, a tall woman with platinum blonde hair.

“Mr. Snoke,” Ben turned towards him, still holding onto Rey. “Phasma,” he cut out. 

Snoke waved his hand and Poe walked away, casting a worried glance back towards Rey. 

“Mr. Snoke, Phasma, this is my girlfriend, Rey. I’m sure you’ve met before.” 

Phasma stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m sure we have.” Her eyes were glistening with laughter at Rey. 

“Ms. Johnson wasn’t it?” Snoke asked with a sickly smile. “A pleasure. Kylo I must talk to you, great matter to discuss.” He made a gesture for Ben to follow him. 

“Actually, Mr. Snoke, I think business will have to wait.” _Holy shit, he actually said no._

Snoke however was not pleased. Disbelief exposed itself on his face before he could mask it. “My boy,” his voice made Ben flinch. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

Before Ben could answer, Phasma stepped forward. “Go ahead Mr. Ren, I’m sure that me and Rey will get along just fine.” 

Phasma pulled Rey along with her. 

_Shit, shit, shit. Stay calm, stay calm._

“Rey, how are you? I don’t believe that we’ve ever officially met.” 

“No,” Rey said with a plastered smile, _dammit._ “I don’t believe we have, but I adore your tattoo on your shoulder.” She didn’t forget walking in on the blonde with Hux. 

“Have you seen Hux yet? You’ve probably heard that he’ll be making partner, I can’t think of anyone better for the position.” 

“No I haven’t heard anything,” Rey grabbed a drink from a server who was navigating the crowds. “Would he still if your uncle knew you were sleeping together?”

Again, Phasma ignored the comment she made. “He’s probably off discussing business with someone,” she said nonchalantly. 

“In a closet again? How convenient,” Rey deadpanned. 

Phasma glared at her. “You really can’t speak. Fucking the two people in same position to make partner? Really Johnson, you are a climber aren’t you.” 

“I’m dating Ben because he is an amazing man who I am beyond lucky to have.” Phasma sneered at her but before she could respond a flash of red made an appearance. sneered at her, but before she could say anything else, a flash of red made an appearance. 

“Hello dear,” _the devil himself._ Armitage Hux appeared at Phasma’s side. 

“Darling,” a plastered smile on Phasma’s face. “You remember little Rey.” 

Hux looked at Rey like he had just noticed she standing was there. Surprise flashed across his face but was quickly followed by something else. 

“Rey,” he drawled. He appraised her. “My, my, you certainly have been squeezing Ren of his goods. You certainly couldn’t afford that dress.” 

_“Ben’s_ mother helped me pick it out.” Rey said with a tight smile. 

_What was with the fake smiles again?_

“Oh he goes by Ben now? Do you think that makes you special? That he picked up my sloppy seconds and let’s you call him _that._ What did you do so that he’d bring you here tonight?”

_Bruises on her arms._

_Insults when she tried to dress up._

_Yelling when he was drunk._

_Comments about her job._

_How she ate._

_Her lack of education._

_Lazy. Waste of space. Slut._

She was spiraling. Hands gently pulled her away. It was Poe. 

“Hey, come on doll,” he said to her gently. 

“I want to go home,” she whispered, voice hoarse.

 _Home._ Would she have a home after tonight? Would Ben be embarrassed by her? 

“I’m going to take you outside, Rey.” 

Time blurred. She was sitting down on the stairs outside. It was cold out. 

“Rey?” Poe gave up trying to talk to her and quietly stood next to her. Before long a coat was being draped over her and Ben’s warm hands were absent mindedly rubbing her shoulders. He was talking to Poe but Rey didn’t know what they were saying. 

“I appreciate it, Poe.” He said with a curt nod. Ben helped her into the car and leaned over her to turn on the seat warmers before he shut the door and got in on the other side. 

He didn’t speak, he didn’t look at her, but he reached over and grabbed her hand. 

They remained silent the whole drive, Rey stared out the window at nothing. She tried to focus on Ben’s hand around hers. 

_What if he leaves?_

She was being irrational and she knew it. But the memories that surfaced, the things that she went through with Hux, they were clouding her judgment. 

Vaguely, she remembered being led up to the apartment and sat gently on the sofa. It wasn’t until Ben kneeled in front of her with a cup of tea that she realized she was crying. 

_Her favorite tea. He knew the exact way she liked her tea._

“Rey, I shouldn’t have taken you there tonight. I shouldn’t have gone. I’m so sorry.” 

She didn’t say anything, she was too busy hating them all. _Snoke, Hux, Phasma._

“Sweetheart, I’m so, so sorry.” 

“I hate it,” she whispered. “I hate all of it. I hate Snoke, I hated seeing Hux and that blonde bitch. I hate how I feel right now, I hate knowing that this must be how you feel, working with them every day.” The tears were streaming freely now, her nose was running. _Cute._

“It took me so long,” he said quietly. She looked at him, confused. “I thought that I was a burden, that my family didn’t understand me. But Snoke did. He seemed to know I was feeling so alone, I thought he understood. But he didn’t. He was using what I was feeling to manipulate me and use me. He’s been playing me and Hux against each from the start, it’s a game to him. He wasn’t going to declare a partner anytime soon, that’s why he kept delaying it. _And I knew._ I could tell, but if I left, who would be there for me? Then you, Rey, came into my life, at one of those god awful events and you made me smile for the first time in such a long time.”

“Ben?” She was so confused. What was going on?

“You’re my light side, Rey. You’re what grounds me.” He cupped her face and brushed the tears away. “I quit tonight.” 

There was silence, complete silence. Then Rey hoarsely whispered, “what?”

“I quit. I’m never going back there, I’m never working for Snoke again. You’ll never have to deal with those people for me, sweetheart. You don’t have to see Hux ever again.” He was being serious. 

_Jesus._

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. The tea spilled and they ended up on the floor. 

Everywhere she could reach, Rey was planting kisses on him. All the horrible parts of the evening washed away. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” 

“Rey, sweetheart, I love you too.” They lay there on the floor of the apartment kissing and feeling each other for a while before Ben pulled back and helped her stand. “You look amazing in that dress, I’d hate to waste such an opportunity.” 

So they ended up, dancing close together in the dark of the apartment, music playing softly, the only lights coming from the window. 

They fell asleep on the living room floor, Rey’s green dress crumpled over the arm of the couch. 

*

Rey was scrubbing aggressively at her hands. This had become a daily occurrence. She refused to put her ring on after work until the grease was off her hands. 

Satisfied, she slipped the ring on her left hand and looked up in the mirror and smiled at what she saw. 

“Sweetheart!” Hearing Ben’s voice made her smile grow. “Sweetheart! Why did Poe text me saying thank you for watching BB?” 

Her fiancé appeared in the doorway of their bathroom. His new job was treating him well, he didn’t look as tried anymore, nor as defeated. “Two weeks, Rey! Poe told me you said for _two weeks!”_

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. Her hands found purchase in his hair. 

“What were you saying, baby?”

Ben pulled back, dazed. _What had he been -_

“No!” He said, leaping away from her, shaking a finger at her. “You can’t do that! We’re having a serious conversation!” 

“Are we? I like my choice much better,” she wrapped her arms around him again, grinning. 

“Rey,” he groaned. “He’s going to hog the bed!” 

Rey simply responded with a giggle and a kiss. 

There were days where Rey struggled, she struggled to forget the past. But when she woke up to Ben’s sleepy morning kisses, or looked at the pictures and rocks that now took up their whole apartment, that worrisome voice in the back of her mind hushed. 

Things were looking up for Rey. 

In fact, she might even say that life couldn’t be better.

**Author's Note:**

> Well???? Was this a good second part of Ben and Rey's story?
> 
> Please leave comments and feedback, I love to hear what you all think. 
> 
> ___
> 
> I am currently writing a Star Wars Clue AU, it won't be up for a few more weeks since I want to get a good grasp on it before I post the first chapter. If you're interested, please subscribe!


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